H.E.A.R.Story

by Rebecca Eisenberg

Kathy Peck is a small woman with a huge smile and sparkling eyes who
appears to operate at 100 rpm. She took a few minutes out of her
hectic, benefit-night schedule to talk with me about the event going on
just a few feet away.

Kathy is the founder, executive director and Chief Operating Officer of
H.E.A.R., which is, in fact, based in San Francisco. 50 Oak St., the
venue for tonight's benefit, is also the building that holds H.E.A.R.'s
office space. "People feel comfortable here. Musicians walk on in and
talk to us."

Although headquartered here in San Francisco, H.E.A.R. actually extends
far beyond the Bay Area. It has branches in over 62 cities worldwide,
including the continental United States, Canada, and Europe.

Hear consists mainly of "idealists who are also into hearing
protection," Kathy explained. Many people feel strongly about music,
but often do not feel comfortable talking about the side effects of too
much of a good thing.

That is where H.E.A.R. steps in. H.E.A.R. provides a safe place for
musicians to bring their hearing-related problems. And even the most
famous and popular of the set take advantage of their resources.

For example, when Luscious Jackson was in a bind during their stopover
in San Francisco, H.E.A.R. was able to bring out protection to make
them safe and ready to perform again during their national tour. Kathy
also gave them referrals to H.E.A.R. outlets across the country, "so
they had somewhere to go when they were on the road if they had
problems, instead of just while they were here."

In this way, H.E.A.R. has developed relationships with all sorts of
bands in all sorts of cities. It is there, ready to save the day.

Kathy describes H.E.A.R. as Oz, behind the performance curtain to make
people's dreams come true. And she should know.

A musician herself, Kathy suffered some hear loss. But thanks to the
knowledge and resources she obtained through H.E.A.R., she was able to
solve many of her hearing problems.

H.E.A.R. hopes to continue help musicians worldwide. She now works
full-time to provide others with the same amount of support.

"A lot of times musicians do not take well enough care of their
hearing. They do not even realize that they are deaf. They don't
notice until it is too late."

Hearing is invaluable. And H.E.A.R., through the work of Kathy and
others, hopes to protect hearing for the good of musicians today and
tomorrow.